3 Firefighters Injured Battling Encino House Fire

ENCINO (CBSLA.com) — Three Los Angeles firefighters were injured Wednesday afternoon while working to extinguish a house fire in Encino.

Sky2’s Gil Leyvas was over the 4400 block of Balboa Avenue as flames could be seen shooting through the roof of the three-story residence. Leyvas said the blaze had been knocked down but that the roof of the house appeared to be a loss.

The homeowners were present during the blaze and were unhurt, Leyvas said. The fate of the family’s three pets is unknown, though.

One of the injured firefighters apparently suffered a broken wrist when he fell while battling the blaze. Two more firefighters were treated for dehydration. All three were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The massive blaze apparently started as a vehicle fire that spread to the 7.700-square foot house’s roof.

About 75 firefighters were initially dispatched at 3:37 p.m., Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department told City News Service. Nearly an hour later, about 140 personnel were on scene.

Serene Branson, reporting for KCAL9, said it took nearly two hours to extinguish the blaze.

Branson said a man on the property asked the media not to take video and he didn’t want to comment.